This motorcycling trip leads you from North to South Vietnam on the entire Ho Chi Minh Trail – the legend in our wartime, now offers amazing scenery and awesome riding experience. The ride starts up at Mai Chau valley and keep follow this less traffic trail passing famous Phong Nha cave and well-known DMZ including Ben Hai bridge, Dong Ha to reach to two World Heritages of Hue and Hoi an. We will ride along beautiful plantation of Central Highland with many historical sites in Vietnam American war before enjoying a cool retreat in Dalat. Take the fantastic ride on the most beautiful trail in South Vietnam to Mui ne, immerse in the beach here before ending up at the bustling Sai gon.

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival

Active Travel Asia tour guide will welcome you at the airport. On the way of the transfer to Hanoi downtown, our guide will introduce shortly about our country and show you how traffic in Vietnam looks like. After checking in your room, we are delighted to invite you for a welcome dinner in a fine restaurant with Vietnamese cuisine.

Summary:

Transfer by private car: 40 km

Meals: Welcome dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

Day 2: Hanoi - Mai Chau ~170km

Being greeted again by our motorcycling tour guide at the hotel. You will have some time to get familiar with the bikes while our guide brief about the program, Vietnamese laws, and safety guide.

Start riding up to the famous Mai Chau valley that is about 170km from Hanoi. The road is paved but twisting around mountains and you are expected to climb up then down several passes. One of the most notable passes is Thung Khe where you can stop to watch over a local fair of Muong ethics. You can even try some local products if interested.

Before arriving in Mai Chau about 7km, there is a flagpole where you will have an overview of Mai Chau valley with vast terrace fields dotted by lovely, tiny stilted houses. That is the great chance for photos.

We reach to Mai Chau then check in our homestay. Leaving your things and bikes at the house, we take a short walk into the Thai village whose costume is the most charming and beautiful. You can join dinner with the host, taste the local wine if you are fancy. Our suggestion for wrapping this day is a music performance by local artists (expenses excluded). You can join and... sing and.... dance. That’s so much fun.

Overnight in a stilt house of the Thai people.

Summary:

Distance: 170 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Homestay in Mai Chau village

Day 3: Mai Chau – Pu Luong Nature reserve – Tan Ky ~ 280 km

Breakfast at the homestay then we say goodbye to our nice host. After 15km driving on national road No15, we reach to a bamboo chopstick making factory then take a turn into a small road to pass Pu Luong Nature Reserve. “Pù Luông” in Thai ethnic language is “big mountain” then you can definitely expect for awesome twisting, up and downhill ride along beautiful terrace fields, stilt houses by Thai and Muong people. After that, we will ride along Ma River to Ngoc Lac where we meet the first part of Ho Chi Minh Trail.

After lunch, we are on a nice ride for about 130km to Tan Ky Town. Our road is fantastic with the views of rubber plantations and especially the 370000ha grass farm – the biggest in Asia by TH True Milk Company, at 40km prior to Tan Ky town. We arrive in Tan Ky, check in the hotel and overnight.

Summary:

Distance: 280 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: hotel in Tan Ky

Day 4: Tan Ky - Phong Nha ~ 290 km

Today is a day for historical and wartime stories. Breakfast at a local shop, we start our motorbikes to Do Luong with en route stop at Truong Bon – a strategic intersection for North to South logistic. The next stop is the highlight of the day when we visit President Ho Chi Minh homeland to admire his humble family and his great life.

Stop for lunch after taking a turn to road No1 – that is parallel with Ho Chi Minh trail with heavier traffic - and passing Ben Thuy bridge about 10km.

After that, we keep our riding along National road No1 for more 15km and turn right to get back to Ho Chi Minh trail again. We will visit Dong Loc intersection where the story of 10 volunteer girls sacrificed their youth heroically is admired by next generations ever. Then we keep our motorbikes along Ho Chi Minh trail passing Huong Khe, Tan Ap etc. to Phong Nha. On the way, we may take some stops at tea, rubber plantations.

Check in hotel in Phong Nha and relax.

Summary:

Distance: 290 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: hotel in Phong Nha

Day 5: Phong Nha – Hue, former citadel ~ 285km

Getting up in the early morning to prepare for long journey today. Following breakfast, we embark our today tour by a motorized boat to explore the famous Nature World Heritage Site of Phong Nha cave.

After 2 hours boating and caving discovery, we continue our motorcycle tour to Hue. On the way, having a short stop at Truong Son National Cemetery to pay respect to the soldiers who fought and died on the trail during the American War. Keep our wheels riding to Dong Ha Town by passing Ben Tat Bridge, built by the VC over the Ben Hai River. Lunch in local restaurant before we head back to Hue – the Culture World Heritage site - in the late afternoon. Check in the hotel, dinner on your own.

Summary:

Distance: 285 km.

Accommodation: Hotel in Hue.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Day 6: Hue – Hoi An ~ 175km

Breakfast at hotel then we continue our journey.

In the morning, we will spend the time to visit Imperial City to visit the impressive Royal Palace and other beautiful royal buildings.

Lunch in a local restaurant then we drive to Hoi An via Da Nang. Instead of taking highway along the coastline with a tunnel under the mountain, we will conquer the most stunning pass of Vietnam – Hai Van. From the top of Hai Van Pass, you can see one side is Hue and one side is Da Nang city with the breathtaking combination of ocean, mountains, and cloud (Hai means “ocean”, Van mean “cloud”)

Upon arrival in Hoi An Town, we check in hotel and free time to enjoy dinner after relaxing. Dinner on your own in Hoi An town.

Summary:

Distance: 175 km.

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoi An.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Day 7: Free time in Hoi An - a day off

Breakfast at hotel, today we will spend your own time to explore small beautiful Hoi An town.

We suggest this day is an easy walk along beautiful ancient streets and enjoy coffee at love, tranquility café shop.

Summary:

Transfer: N.A

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoi An.

Day 8: Hoi An – Phuoc Son ~ 150km

Say goodbye to this charming town, we start our motorbikes to Phuoc Son. Following toward to National Road No1 and take a 15km riding on this road, we turn right to the World Culture Heritage – My Son Holy Land. This was once capital of Cham Pa Kingdom with the unique architecture and hiding inside the relics many mysteries.

Enjoy your lunch at a local restaurant.

We continue the ride on our motorbikes on Highway 14 E, along the bank of Thu Bon River to reach in Phuoc Son in the late afternoon. On the way of riding, you may meet many manmade lakes for hydroelectric plants. Overnight in mini hotel or hostel in Phuoc Son.

Summary:

Distance: 150 km.

Accommodation: Hotel in Phuoc Son.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 9: Phuoc Son – Kon Tum ~ 190km

This day is a bit of a bumpy section of Highway 14 toward Kon Tum – a province on Central Highland of Vietnam – that is the home of many ethnics with unique culture feature.

While driving over Lo Xo Pass, we make several stops along the way to meet De and Trying minorities, who live along the Dak Po Ko river. Along the river are many amazing hanging bridges, built by the local people. Lunch will be in Tan Canh. Then we visit a village of Se Dang and passing one of the key towns which once were battle sites of the Vietnam War – Dak To and outpost Charlie.

Arrive in Kon Tum, we can visit the Catholic Church and the orphanage, based behind the Catholic Church in town and run by a group of French nuns. If time permits, you can also visit a beautiful Bahnar village near town.

Summary:

Distance: 190 km

Accommodation: Hotel in Kon Tum

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 10: Kon Tum – Buon Me Thuot ~ 240km

The new Ho Chi Minh Highway was built on the old trail, but from Kon Tum to Daklak, the historic HCM trail (Highway 14C), runs parallel to Highway 14 linking Kon Tum, Pleiku, and Buon Me Thuot.

We will continue riding Highway 14 today, finding that traffic is busier than usual. Lunch will be in Pleiku. From here, we ride along the Tun River and up over a pass. Along the way, there are vast coffee plantations and the stilt houses of the Central Highland’s largest ethnic group, Gia Rai. Eventually, we will cross the Nha Rong and down into Buon Me Thuot, the provincial capital of Dak Lak Province.

At night we can stop by the beer parlors or sample the local coffee grown in the region. Coffee in Vietnam Central Highland is believed one of the best over the world. Even though the tastes for Vietnamese are strong, just taste it and enjoy its bittersweet on your tongue. Overnight in hotel.

Summary:

Distance: 240 km

Accommodation: Hotel in Buon Ma Thuot

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 11: Buon Ma Thuot – Lak Lake – Dalat ~ 200km

This morning, we drive to Lak Lake on Rte. 27, a small paved road with poor surfacing and quite busy. Here we can have a break for refreshment and troll around the by the lake. There are said to be about 31 different ethnic groups in Dac Lac, each with their own traditional dress and customs. Some of the villages are known for elephant hunting and taming, some for weaving and other arts.

After lunch in Lak Lake, we continue on to Da Lat. The road is narrow, winding, but not busy. We have three passes to cross – Krong No, Chuoi, and Phu Son. The drive itself is quite beautiful and lined with dense forests. Late in the afternoon, we will arrive in the hill town of Da Lat. Overnight in Dalat.

Summary:

Distance: 200 km

Accommodation: Hotel in Da Lat

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 12: Da Lat touring around

Following breakfast at the hotel, we can spend a little time on the highlights of Da Lat. Today is depending very much on your interest then we can manage accordingly. The suggestions are various from relaxing city tour with the best highlights of the highland city to another adventure types such as biking, cannoning, rock climbing or hiking.

Depending on your choice of tour, the time to back to the hotel can be around 2.30PM to 5 PM.

Summary:

Distance: up to your interest

Accommodation: Hotel in Da Lat.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Day 13: Da Lat – Mui Ne ~ 250 km

Wake up in the early morning for the sound and sense of the highland town. Prepare for this long day with full breakfast at your hotel. Don’t forget to enjoy delicious coffee – the specialties of this area.

Start our bikes for the last part of our journey – riding to Mui Ne. We can make a stop on the way for lunch or beautiful waterfalls. Arrive in Mui Ne in the afternoon. Check in the hotel, dinner on your own.

Summary:

Distance: 250km

Accommodation: Hotel in Mui Ne.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Day 14: Mui Ne – Sai Gon ~ 180 km

Breakfast at hotel then heads to Sai Gon to complete the wonderful tour.

Lunch on the route. Check in the hotel in the afternoon and free time for your dinner.

Tonight is the time to explore the biggest and busiest hub of Vietnam and celebrating our challenging completion. Beer, nightclub, and bar are the great options to wrap your adventure in Vietnam with an awesome night out. Overnight in Sai Gon

Summary:

Riding: 180 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Sai Gon

Day 15: Sai Gon departure

Free time or explore the city with its best highlights before getting reading for the flight back to your home country. Our guide will escort you to the airport for the onward flight back to your home country or connect to the next destination.

All tours are private. No joined-in, customized. No fixed dates. (except Amazing Thailand on Motorbike)You can customize to pick one or some most favorite sections.The price - if not customized - is fixed. No hidden cost, no surprised.We are full licensed operator and only work with similar legal status partners. It's adventurous, not riskyMany discounts available from May to Sep. Minimum surcharges on peak days (Xmas, New Year etc)Still questions?! Please contact usor email: info@activetravel.asia

What is Included

Semi-automatic gear Honda 125 CC

Best Rated Hotel Accommodations

Unlimited Mileage

Helmets for the driver and passenger

Daily breakfast

Other meals as indicated in itinerary

Homestay permission

Professional English speaking tour leaders

Water & Snacks on driving days

First-aid kit

National Park and other Entrance Fees

Preparation and Orientation

All taxes, fees, and environmental surcharges

What is NOT Included

Travel insurance

Visa process and stamp

Transportation between hotel and location (restrictions may apply at certain locations)

Tips

Gasoline average US$ 10 per day

Personal motorbike protection gears

Others not mentioned

Mechanic and support truck

Bike Upgrade: Suzuki DRZ 400 CC

THIS ADVENTURE INFORMATION

Duration: 15 days, 14 nights

Depart from: Hanoi - End at: Saigon

When: Year round

Activities: Motorcycling

Transportation: Motorbike

Accommodation: 1 night homestay, 13 night hotels and guest houses

Tour guide: motorcycling English speaking guide

Support crew if used: 1 mechanic & Support vehicle

MOTORCYCLING GRADEChallenging Grade that means this tours involve in active, physical required activities up to 06 – 08 hours per days in remote area, under variable weather conditions or quick attitude changes. You are going to get into remote areas where the support facilities are not always available or facing to passes or river crossing. You should be in very good level of fitness. For those biking or motorcycling adventure, experienced riders with good driving skills may be required.

All meals, which are indicated in the itinerary, are included in the price of this trip. While in big towns we will enjoy Vietnamese cuisine in fine restaurants. Once we travel away from big towns, the emphasis will be on healthy and nutritious fresh local produce

HOTELS AND HOMESTAYIn big towns we use the finest 3-star hotels with central location. Please contact us if you prefer higher hotel categories.
In remote areas we use the best hotels or guesthouses available.
Homestay in Mai Chau is simple in term of bedding condition and amenities. We will stay overnight in the traditional house-on-stilt of the Thai people and, as the local do, we will sleep on bamboo floor with mattress, clean sheet, pillows and mosquito nets. Toilet is usually western style and some step away from the house

OUR MOTORBIKING TOUR GUIDEThe tour will be led by one of our tour guides who are experienced in guiding motorcycling tours in Vietnam. He has been carefully selected and trained in this field and is fully licensed in tour guiding by the government. In addition, he has been trained in first-aid by SOS International and he knows how to deal with difficult situations. You will have a great time traveling with him

MOTOR CYCLING DAYSA typical motorcycle riding day starts at about 8.30 am after breakfast. Lunch times can vary depending on the distance. We aim to reach the next overnight stop by 4.30 or 5. During the riding we will have short breaks for rest, snack and photographing.OUR MOTORBIKES AND UPGRADE

The upgrade to Dirt Bikes are always available and upon your request. We have many Dirt Bike models various from 125CC up to 650cc for wide range of riders' experience. They are very much suit to Vietnam roads.

Due to the road conditions of Vietnam, big-size or big-engine motorbikes (such as: 1000cc up) are not popular and expensive. Such big-engine motorbikes may not maximize their power as well as technical specs while highway express in Vietnam is not good enough and the awareness of traffic attendants are relatively low. Moreover, the rental prices can be very high due to high imported taxes added into the price. We strongly encourage you contact to our team if you decided to take those ones.

SUPPORT VEHICLES

Vietnam with various terrain and great scenery is an ideal place for adventure motorcycling. Although it is so fun and adventurous to ride in Vietnam it is surely a challenge for any foreign rider since the traffic is so different from the rest of the world. Moreover, we want everyone to enjoy their motorbiking experience on this trip and we recognize the importance of group members being allowed to ride at their own pace. At times there can be a fair distance between the front and rear riders in the group, with the support vehicle and tour leader out of sight. The support vehicle will pick up any group members who wish to take a break from motorcycling at any time.

Note on client safetyWe reserve the right to deviate from this itinerary for any reasons, including road and weather conditions, frequency of visits to a village, or for any other factor which may influence client safety.

We use Future Neo 2009 125CC in this quotation by default. The reason is that the neat and very good design by Honda Vietnam is perfectly suitable for Vietnam road paths. The gear shift is changed easily and smoothly. This models can give you good experiences over almost motorcycling paths of Vietnam. Honda Future Neo is our choice in the quotation as its very affordable price, popular spare parts, easy-to-control even for motorcycling beginners

If you pick the price option Incl. Mechanic and Support truck, we will supply:

Support truck will pick up any group members who wish to take a break from motorcycling at any time.

01 professional mechanic along the motorbiking trip who greatly understand the technical issues and fix our motorbikes as manufacturer's requirements. That will maximize your safety and the duration of our motorbikes usages.

Original passport – compulsory, of course, you have to declare several times and always keep it in a safest place. Copying your passport for daily usages and putting the original one into a plastic bag is strongly recommended.

This Tour Category FAQs

Do I need travel insurance?

Yes, it is a must, especially for taking adventures. The insurance companies in Vietnam don’t cover if you don’t have Vietnamese driving licenses, which require you a 6-months resident visa as a minimum, plus many paperwork and time to wait. Then we strongly recommend you should buy a travel insurance from your home country. The names that the riders going with us suggested are QBE, Allianz etc.

How the traffic in Vietnam is?

First comes first, Vietnam is the country with the law of right-hand-side riding. That means you keep on the right-hand side and take over on the left-hand side whilst joining the traffic.

You often hear traffic in Vietnam is crazy, hectic, fun or even dangerous. On Vietnam roads, especially inside main cities, motorbikes are the king. That’s why ActiveTravel ASIA select quiet and countryside roads for our Vietnam motorcycle tours. The first reason is your safety, the second and maybe many other following reasons after that are the sceneries and challenging hardship. Once you get out the cities, the traffic heaviness drops remarkably. However, we still ask you drive slowly and carefully because there are obstacles possibly jumping out the roads.

To support your safety riding, we always include a tour guide who are local and very experienced of motorcycling tours. The tour guide is not only your friendly accompany but a safety instructor for your whole tours with us.

What have I to do if I got an accident?

First of all, stay calm and notice our guide immediately, because our guide is always around you. Our guides are trained to call us in an eye blink and deal with the situation. Don’t panic, don’t ever get any offensive action to the locals, just leave the situation to our guides and our staffs. We will try our best to find a way to settle it down before the traffic police involving.

This is very strange in Vietnam that when an accident happened, the compensation often comes from the bigger vehicles regardless of right or wrong sides eg: drivers pay to motorbikes, motorbikes pay to cyclist etc. That sounds ridiculous but “when you are in Rome, do as Roman does”. If the police got involved, they would tow away all related vehicles, take paper works and you have to wait the whole time until an official outcome.

Then once again, we strongly emphasize that you should stay calm, leave this to our tour guide and staffs. If you are requested to pay a small amount of money by the end, don’t be surprised even if you are right.

Do I need international driving license?

Even though, in Aug 2016, there was a decree by Vietnam government to recognize International Driving Permit (IDP), the detailed documents to guide of converting your foreign driving license into the accepted ones in Vietnam are a quite long way to implement smoothly and effectively. An IDP, if granted by a Vietnamese transport authority, will be valid in 85 countries which are contracting parties to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Then you should check whether your country joined the Convention or not? If yes, you can convert your driving license into IDP that is accepted in Vietnam. Please take your original license, your passport, some photos and a small fee to your transportation controlling authority in your home country to convert it.

In reality, the traffic warden hardly stops you for driving license checking due to their limit in English and no confident to handle with. We have just noticed the situation starts changing a bit in South Vietnam where police commence to stop foreigners for driving licenses.

What is the best time to ride? And why this time?

From Sep to Dec and from Feb to May annually. They are autumn and spring, early summer in Vietnam (refer more: best time to travel in Vietnam). This time is not too hot, not too cold and rather dry all over Vietnam for outdoor activities. Sep to Dec is harvesting seasons in mountainous areas where are famous for stunning terrace fields; Feb to May is spring, early summer that are full-bloomed seasons of hundred flowers along Vietnam.

Jan is nice for riding in Central and South Vietnam, but it is rather cold and foggy – in some years, it is freeze and snowy, in North Vietnam.

From May to Aug is rainy and stormy seasons. If you are ready to get wet, this time will be awesome with very sweet and big deals on price.

What are the best places you recommended?

For intermediate and experienced riders, North Loop Vietnam is the best with stunning, majestic scenery and challenging with twist turns, highest passes, sneaky and dirt trails. This is the haven of adventures in Vietnam. Top itineraries are North West route, North East challenge.

For all riders, riding Ho Chi Minh trail is undeniably the best. Depending on your time & physical level, the length of the tour can be vary. The road is quiet, less traffic; the ride is silky, smooth in many parts and the experience is combined with fantastic sceneries, historical and cultural stories.

I ride a big bike at my home, is 110 - 125CC able to tackle to Vietnamese roads?

Yes. Vietnamese road conditions and traffic awareness are the biggest obstacles for such big “beast” to roar their power. And another issue is that there are not many shops offering the bigger engine motorbike rentals because it is not cost-effective. The imported taxes to those motorbikes are very high that leads to the selling and renting prices rocket to the roof.

We often use 110 - 125CC by Honda, various models because they are strong enough to carry up to 2 riders, light enough to traverse and fantastic enough to control to have fun. Moreover, Honda is the biggest motor manufacturer in Vietnam, then you can easily find spare parts even in very remote areas. The minimum model is 110CC that is very affordable, while 125CC is our top recommended. (see some of our motor models)

How far should I book in advance?

As far as possible we recommend. The further you book, the easier and better services and prices you may get. As our Vietnam motorcycling tours are private, then you will have more time to customize and get consulted by our experts to find the best one suit your experiences.

We also can deal with last minutes booking (such as by Stephane – he came to our office in morning, booked and started his motorcycling to North West Vietnam in early afternoon – see how fun he got!). With such fast bookings, knowing well your time, budget, and interests will make everything work “smoothly as silk”

I travel alone, can I join a group?

We don’t provide joined a group tour for motorcycling in Vietnam until this time. All our tours are private and customized, then we will have you to tailor-made it until it fit your budget while relatively keep a good balance of a motorcycling adventure.

Don’t worry much about budget, leave everything for us. Just think about you in your all own, standing in front of majestic views – one bike one ride, you explore our Vietnam! That’s we often call a lifetime adventure.